There is nothing wrong with being a smaller version of your big brother when you can be just as awesome. That is what most photographers agree on when it comes to the new X-T10 shooter from Fujifilm.
On the surface, the X-T10 looks like nothing more than a pared down X-T1, which many photographers, pro and amateurs alike, raved about when Fujifilm unveiled it last year. Therefore, it isn't surprising that before people got the chance to get their hands on the new camera, there was the terrible suspicion that it will be just like the X-T1, but so compromised you wouldn't get much of the good things found in the bigger camera. Boy, were people ever so wrong!
Fujifilm certainly does cut a few corners on the X-T10, but it does so adeptly and in all the right places that many people will likely not even notice, unless they own the X-T1, that is. As DPReview notes, the X-T10 is targeted at the "hobbyist and a younger generation of creatives, essentially those who might not be able to afford (or don't want to spend more than $1,000 on) the X-T1 but still want the same image quality it offers."
The T-X10 has the same 16-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and the EXR Processor II that is found on the X-T1, so there is really not that much difference in image quality, which is very good, by the way. You also get to shoot within a wide ISO range of 200 to 6,400, giving you great results when it comes to noise reduction.
The one downside you would find in this camera is the limited capacity for videos, as the X-T10 can only take 1080p videos, but there are not many cameras of this size and price range that can shoot 4K videos. Also, you'll get a similar three-inch tiltable LCD screen, but it's not a touchscreen and it's only 920k dots. Not that anyone's complaining about 920k dots, because it still delivers very good quality.
One really good thing about the X-T10 is the old-school feel it gives photographers. The camera is certainly smaller than the X-T1, which means it could be a bit more difficult handling its handy, compact size, especially when you have big hands, with all the knobs and buttons available on the camera. But that's just the thing. Most photographers who aren't amateurs have no use for automatic mode. They want to fiddle with the buttons, toggles and switches until they find a setting they like and take amazing pictures, and as The Verge writes, it's "that kind of control (that) makes the process of photography fun."
"If smartphones and simple point-and-shoots have you jaded about the future of cameras, the X-T10 is reassurance that physical buttons are here to stay for a very long time," says Mashable. "The camera's body is covered with buttons and levers. It's a photographer nerd's dream."
Housed in the same sturdy magnesium alloy of the X-T1, there isn't much you won't miss on the X-T10, except perhaps the weather-proof build. However, if you're not one who likes to go out under stormy weather to take pictures, that's not really much of a trade-off. And for $400 less than the X-T10, it certainly is a good deal, a very good deal.
